Hungary: Hungary, Russia to start talks on post-2021 gas supply

1. March 2017. / SEE Energy News

After a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that they have agreed to start talks over Russian natural gas supply following the expiry of MoscowBudapest energy deal in 2021.

PM Orban said that Hungary strives for open and transparent relations with Russia, while trying to protect its economic and trade links, which have been seriously damaged by the sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014.

At the same time, Russia promised to Hungary to find a way to supply natural gas by any means necessary, however no details on how this could be done were specified. President Putin even did not rule out that the South Stream project could be revived and the gas transit contract with Ukraine, which expires after 2019, could be extended.

Earlier, Yuri Ushakov, aide to the Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the eve of his official visit to Hungary that Hungary could join Gazprom’s projects for the construction of Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines in the near future, adding that the possibility of the construction of Nord Stream branch that will reach Hungary is also currently discussed.